Belonging, Trust and Equity as Strategic and Moral Imperatives (Guest Column)

One thing I have learned in my past decade in various industries consulting software insurance and ad agencies is that DEampampI is industry agnostic Workplace challenges exist in every industry and they are rooted in a collection of practices broken systems and laws that stand as barriers to greater inclusion There are too many excluded groups and excluded individuals Where there is exclusion a lack of diversity companies cut themselves off from the power and vibrance that diversity can bring to their organizationsAll the available research shows that amp8220belongingamp8221 or feelings of inclusiveness are associated with higher performing more engaged teams Recent research by Bain ampamp Company confirms this finding Since all companies are under the gun to perform better year after year it is obvious that the promotion of amp8220belongingamp8221 is a strategic imperative DEampampI initiatives extend the concept of belonging to the wider group of individuals who are more representative of the makeup of societyWhat does vary among companies is an appetite for change There are major differences in the openness of existing cultures and the qualities of their executive leadership If you begin with an openminded culture and you add strong leadership you have the makings of a new inclusive culture that fosters fundamental progress in DEampampI terms For me a strong sense of belonging is a key performance indicator that you are getting diversity equity and inclusion rightTrust is rarely discussed and trust is a hidden factor in the discussion of diversity The power of diversity is squandered when there is a lack of trust If there is one task that weighs on me as a practitioner it is the difficulty of rebuilding trust with groups and individuals who have experienced exclusion or feelings that amp8220they do not belongamp8221 Negative experiences have been magnified for individuals in historically excluded groups This makes the restoration of trust difficultAt Huge we are making diversity and inclusion a global priority We are undergoing a fundamental transformation of our corporate mission which includes transforming our client relationships our product lines and our global organizational structure Huge39s DEampampI journey is part of this transformation We are focused on disrupting bias from the inside out continually examining and improving our strategy formal policies and informal practicesHugeamp8217s transformation has given me an opportunity to help remodel our internal infrastructure and keep what works while challenging the status quo and reimagining what needs to be improved We are doing this through an evidencedbased approach with DEampampI one where we make better datadriven decisions in real time establish executive leadership KPIs and are honest in our executive discussions about what it takes to go from good to greatThere is no final destination for DEampampI the work is never done Action breeds change At a resultsobsessed company like Huge we know that consistent action leads to consistently improved results We only require ourselves to be accountable for change We believe that change will give us the desired outcomeTo my DEampampI colleagues in other companies I can say amp8220moving the needle is only as successful as your consistent efforts to disrupt bias challenge broken systems and decide that your companies must do things differentlyamp8221Equity has to be a moral imperative if we want to affect change and improve experiences for all peopleNote Michael Farmer edited this columnClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Belonging, Trust and Equity as Strategic and Moral Imperatives (Guest Column)

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